US Economic Troubles Increase

The Labor Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia reported on Thursday that jobless claims in the United States are skyrocketing and manufacturing activity is down in the Mid-Atlantic region of the country. The bad news "sent stocks tumbling," according to USA Today newspaper.

The number of people filing for first-time claims of unemployment benefits rose by 12,000 last week, making the number of first-time claims reach 500,000. This is the highest since mid-November. Economists incorrectly guessed that the number of claims would be only 480,000. The number of people filing for first-time unemployment claims has been rising for the past three weeks.

The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's most broad index for manufacturing activity in the Mid-Atlantic region of the USA also had grim things to report. Manufacturing activity in the area plummeted from +5.1 in July to -7.7 in August, despite predictions that it would reach +7.0. It was the first negative showing since July 2009, which shocked many economists due to the fact that manufacturing was one of the economy's few good areas.

Diane Swonk of Mesirow Financial has put the odds of a double-dip recession at 15% to 20%.

"Germany's hiring, Hong Kong is hiring, New Zealand is hiring," said LPL Financial economist John Canally. "The rest of the world is growing quite nicely."

The USA, however, is not hiring.

As all this continues, the number of work discrimination claims by disabled people is increasing. The number of Americans with Disabilities Act related charges filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission rose to 21,500 in 2009. This is because disabled people are more likely to be targets for layoffs.

While thousands upon thousands more Americans are losing their jobs, the banks and companies are hoarding money. They are unwilling to spend this money despite the fact that, if used properly, jobs and homes could be guaranteed for all ordinary people, including those in other countries that have been victimized by the US corporate and government elite.

The rich have robbed us, the workers, of our jobs. They have raped us of our dignity, plundered our bank accounts, and burned the homes of our friends and family worldwide. Sometimes they do it with guns, other times they use their special commandos who are so handsomely uniformed in designer suites. There is, undoubtedly, a war being waged against us. We cannot afford to lose it, for it surely means serfdom.